27 Gifts
by YelyahFran
Summary: It's been two months since the battle in New York. It's Natasha's 27th birthday. So, Clint plans to give her 27 gifts. And Clint refuses to miss even one. BlackEye
1. Gift 1 to 20

**Oh how I missed writing fanfics! First time to write an Avengers fanfic. This first chapter's kind of short. It's experimental in fact. Okay, I don't own the Avengers. And don't worry, Natasha will become more… emotionless in the next chapters.**

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Natasha stared into space as she lay in the top bunk in her room in Stark Tower. One would think that after two months she'd finally be able to get some sleep. Unfortunately, being traumatized doesn't work that way.

Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see were images of death. Destruction. And her conversation with Loki would replay. So what if she did it to get information? That doesn't mean he didn't send a chill through her and a shiver down her spine.

There's one person Natasha cares about. And his name's Clint Barton.

"You're awake, aren't you Nat?" She heard said man's voice in the bunk below her. She rolled her eyes even if she knew that he couldn't see her.

"What do you think idiot?" She replied and heard him chuckle lightly, making a faint smile appear on her face. "So, why are you still awake?"

Clint shrugged. "Same reason you are. I can't sleep."

Even without him telling her, she already knew what he dreamt about. Him being controlled by Loki. Killing her slowly and having the rare guilt wash over him when he wakes up from the spell. A complete and utter nightmare.

Natasha sat on the edge of the bed, letting her legs dangle. "It's not even midnight yet." She said with a frown.

Clint smiled to himself as he watched the numbers of the digital clock on the bedside table turn from 11:59 to 12:00. "Uh, yes it is." He argued.

He got up and turned on the light. He faced her. He was on the other side of the room, but they were no more than eight feet away. A grin was pasted on his face.

"Happy birthday Natasha."

She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. She couldn't stop a tear from escaping her eye. She usually prides herself on being unemotional, but aroud Clint, he sees her for who she is. He sees her for Natasha and nothing she does will ever change that.

"I can't believe you remembered." She said, for once, at a complete loss for words. Only Clint has ever, and will ever, be able to make her feel that way.

He carried her down and helped steady her. But even when her feet were properly planted on the floor, she continued to cling onto him like dear life itself. Her head was buried in the crook of her neck. He noticed how her cherry red smelled of aloe vera shampoo and a little bit of something that must have been blood.

"How could I forget?" He said with a small chuckle. "If there's one person who'll remember you're birthday, it's me."

She hugged him even tighter. "Thank you Clint." She whispered, letting more tears fall. It felt so good to let go in front of him. Even through her tank top, she could feel the heat radiating off of his bare upper body.

Clint let go of her and wiped away her tears with his thumb. He took out something from the pocket of his gray sweatpants. It was a small rectangular metal box. "Gift one to twenty." He said and handed it to her.

It was tradition of Clint's to give Natasha the same number of gifts as her age. Natasha had once called it silly. "Well, if there's one thing that I don't want to say constant, it's the number of gifts I give you every year." He responded with a shrug.

She opened the box and laughed when she saw the 20 precious blue pills in the box. Sleeping pills that he must have stolen from somewhere in the building. "You always know what I want." She said with another laugh.

He grinned again. "Drink one and I'll give you the rest of your gifts in the morning." He told her gently, hand on her arm.

She nodded. She's never been one for following orders, especially Clint's. But who is she deny such an order?

She took one out of the box and swallowed it. She put the rest in underneath Clint's matress. If ever someone discovered the missing pills, at least she wouldn't be blamed.

She got back in bed just as sleepiness washed over her. "Don't worry, I'll let you beat me up in the morning." Cint said and Natasha just rolled her eyes.

"Like I ever needed your permission." She said before drifting off to sleep.

When Clint saw that she was truly in a deep sleep that even he could not disturb, he brushed some of her hair away from her face. If he ever tried something like that while she was still half awake, he was sure to get a good beating.

And with that, he sighed. He was going to have a long day.

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**Hoped that y'all liked it! I swear, I'll make the next few chapters better. I'm just happy to be writing again.**


	2. Gift 21

**Okay, chapter two. Wow, I'm kind of surprised at the number of hits. But it's cool too. Thanks to those who faved the story and alert and stuff. I think you get it. Anyway, I don't own the Avengers. Yup, that's pretty much all I have to say.**

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Natasha's eyelids fluttered. They didn't snap right open the way they did when a nightmare would come back to haunt her.

She gout out of bed and checked the bunk below hers. Clint was gone. It seemed strange to her. She was usually the one to get out of bed first.

She checked the clock on the bedside table. 8 AM. She cursed softly in Russian. By this time, she and Clint were usually training. Of course, usually is a term used loosely. Natasha has never been one to stay in one place too long, but usually long enough for her to make a routine.

She freshened up and put on a pair of jeans, a red tank top and her leather jacket. It might have been her birthday, but to her, it was just a day to mark another year in her life. She thought to herself, _what is there to celebrate?_

She went to the kitchen and saw the usual scene in front of her. Tony and Pepper were discussing something over breakfast, Steve and Bruce spoke to each other while eating bacon and eggs, and Clint leaned against the counter, drinking coffee. It seemed strange for Natasha not to be there beside him. Like she was a ghost floating around, watching him. It surprised her to know how empty it made her feel.

"Good morning Natasha." Steve greeted her in an even but friendly voice. Everyone else greeted her in their usual own special way except Clint. He just grinned at her and sent an unseen wink her way.

Natasha tried to hide the smile that was trying to creep onto her face. She succeeded in doing so of course. After all, what were all those years of practice for?

She got a piece of toast and began to nibble on it while Clint made her a cup of coffee. He knew the way she liked it. They were always more than just partners. They've always been best friends.

"You're up later than usual Natasha." Bruce observed out loud as she took her place beside Clint. She felt better being there beside him. Everything felt a little more right.

She just shrugged. "It's my first good night's sleep in a really long time." She replied as Clint handed her her black and red striped mug.

By the time breakfast was over, Tony and Bruce were in the lab, Steve had hopped onto his motorcycle and went God knows where, and Pepper had gone out to do some errands. Clint and Natasha, however, stayed behind to voluntarily do the dishes.

When all that had been done, Clint grinned at Natasha. She merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Gift twenty-one." He said and grabbed her hand. If anyone else had done such a thing, they would have been lucky to lose just a hand.

He took her to the training room which was basically a gym with targets for Clint and Natasha when she wanted to practice on her knife throwing. To the two of them, it was home. It was more comfortable to be in the training room than in their room itself.

He handed her a box from inside his jacket. It was simple and black, not wrapped because he knew that found wrapping gift a waste of paper.

Natasha eyed the box and Clint rolled his eyes. "Well open it!" He practically yelled. "I swear, it's not a scorpion this time."

She almost laughed. It had been her 25th birthday and they were on a mission in India. He woke her up in the middle of the night with a cardboard box. When she had opened it, it contained three scorpions. She certainly couldn't say it was the best gift, but she'd been glad he'd gotten her a gift anyway.

Natasha lifted the lid. She gasped and almost dropped the box. Clint smiled, ear to ear. He'd rarely ever heard Natasha gasp, and upon hearing it, he knew that the gift was perfect. She took out the dagger, handling the ruby handle gently. He'd always compared the color of her hair to rubies. She knew very well that she'd either stolen money from Tony or had Tony buy the dagger, but it didn't matter. All she really knew was that it left her speechless.

"I knew you'd like it." He said and she stopped staring at the dagger and started staring at him. That stare made him wonder if she'd hug him or if she'd stab him with the dagger. But she was frozen, she didn't move one bit.

She shook her head and smiled. "I love it." She said at last and Clint let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." Only the two of them would ever know how deep those words could go.

"Want to test it out?" He asked her. "I mean, while we're here. I think your fingers are itching just to use it already."

He was right. Natasha couldn't help but want to play with her new "toy". She felt similar to a 5-year old girl on Christmas morning. And Clint was playing Santa Claus.

Without warning, she threw the dagger across the room, right at a target that Clint hadn't noticed. It made him step back a bit. The sight looked amazing. He noticed the way her arm swung perfectly, the perfect form. The way her eyes were filled with excitement and her mouth curled up into a dangerous yet beautiful smile.

She stood up straight, a smile across her lips, and turned to Clint who was smiling back at her. He looked impressed. It wasn't like she hadn't impressed her before, but this time was different. She'd done something that didn't only impress him, but she'd also showed him that she truly did love gift twenty-one.

"Bullseye." Was the only word to come out of her mouth.

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**Sorry this took a little longer to write than expected. I went to camp and hit people with drumsticks. It was really fun. And my neck hurts. I'm starting to think I headbang too much. No matter. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. REVIEW PLEASE.**


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